April Miller played her first game of men's club rugby this season with a fractured collarbone.

The only woman playing club rugby in Southland, she said she was too keen to get on the field to let an injury stop her.

Miller is footing it with the big boys, playing for the Pukerau Rugby Club's senior men's team in the Southland-wide President's Grade competition.

"At first I was kinda scared but they treat me the same - I just played it like it was a normal game," Miller said.

"I don't think about it really. Pukerau look after me."

The hard-as-nails 18-year-old played rugby for Gore High School and the Southland Under-18 girls before thinking she would have to give the game away because there was no senior woman's rugby in Southland.

All that changed when she went to watch Pukerau play one afternoon.

"I thought I feel like playing rugby again so I asked if I could play and they said yes. I thought they were only joking but they weren't. They found me a jersey so we went from there."

Miller has played four of five games for the team at lock or number 8.

"There's no pushing in the scrums, that's one thing I was worried about."

While she hasn't scored a try this season, she says she has "stopped a few - that's my fame".

"It's good to be playing with people who know how to play."

The club has asked opposition teams if they wanted to play against her and all have been happy to.